What Will Croatia Do if Western Countries Stop Accepting Refugees?

The latest on the migrant crisis and open borders.

Since November 3, more than 100,000 refugees and migrants have passed through the winter transit centre in Slavonski Brod. During the inspection of refugees at the entrance of the camp, a number of items has been seized, including small knives, but there have been no serious incidents. “At the entrance, all refugees are checked, which includes fingerprinting, photographing and metal detectors. The entire camp is under video surveillance”, Kata Nujić, spokeswoman for the local police, said, reports Vecernji List on November 20, 2015.

“If Austria, Slovenia or anyone else on the route, especially Germany, closes its borders, Croatia will no longer be able to accept migrants”, Croatian Interior Minister Ranko Ostojić said while talking about the news that temporary suspension of the Schengen area rules will be discussed on Friday at a meeting in Brussels. It is obvious that the authorities are determined that Croatia will not be turned into a hotspot. “We do not see wires as a solution, but Croatia will not allow to suddenly have tens of thousands of people waiting for entry into the EU. Of course, if the German border is closed, we would have to react”, Ostojić said.

The Balkan route is very sensitive to any decision by national authorities which can have a domino effect on the entire route. Neither Austria nor Slovenia have yet announced the closing of borders, but it should be remembered that every statement of the national authorities is valid only for the moment when it is given, and it could all change very quickly. The decisions are made according to the principle of action and reaction, based on new information, the situation on the ground and political instructions.

The issue which concerns all the countries along the route is how to make sure that their country does not become a hotspot by a sudden and unannounced blockage of the route at one point. Still, all eyes are focused on Germany. The rules say that the Schengen Agreement can be temporarily suspended due to national security, for example in cases of terrorist threats. The fact that one of the Paris terrorists has passed through the immigration route – although almost all of the attackers were Europeans – gave ammunition to those politicians who are critical of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s policies.

While the German policy is obviously slowly but surely evolving, the situation on the Croatian-Serbian state border is so far unchanged. Refugees board the trains at the station in Šid in Serbia, from where they are transported to the camp in Slavonski Brod. Former local border crossing Berkasovo – Bapska is no longer used, just like a former reception camp in Opatovac. However, Berkasovo and Opatovac remain on stand-by if there is a potential problem with the transport of refugees in the future.

In Serbia, meanwhile, a number of reception centres for refugees has been built, but if the borders are closed, they would be filled within two days. Since local officials have announced that they will not close their borders for the flow of refugees, there is concern in Eastern Croatia. “If Slovenia really stops accepting refugees, we would have to do the same, but we do not know how. Green border between Croatia and Serbia is one hundred kilometres long and it can be crossed without any problems. Since we do not have any border fences, refugees could start coming over the border uncontrollably, which would be a disaster”, said an unofficial police source.

 

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